Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of buzz about AI. Will it reshape the world as we know it, or is it all just hype? While all of this debate is going on, there is a compelling use case for this technology, and it is one that most probably would not be expected. It turns out that AI is really good at detecting - and preventing - a major cause of road accidents: driver fatigue.
“Our fleet clients have forward-facing and rear cameras on their vehicle, and many of them also have cameras focused on drivers’ faces,” explains Mark Forbes, General Manager of Fleet Bureau Services at Netstar. “Each camera has its own processor, and it is taught to detect certain behaviours that indicate that a truck driver has become dangerously fatigued.”
This technology is a significant development, one that can help make South African roads safer for everyone. Driver fatigue is a significant contributor to road accidents globally. The cost of accidents caused by driver fatigue is estimated at $20 billion in the US. While reliable statistics for South Africa are hard to come by, it has been estimated that fatigue is a factor in 25% - 30% of fatal crashes.
If you are behind the steering wheel of an 18-wheeler weighing a total of 40 tons, you are in charge of millions of rands in vehicles and cargo, and even a small error in judgment, or slight slowing down of reaction time, can come at a terrible cost. Tired drivers are a danger to themselves and others, so an AI-powered camera that looks at a truck driver's face is effectively looking out for everyone.
The beauty of AI is that the more the camera is used, the more it learns what to look for. Once the camera picks up tell-tale signs of fatigue, it relays a message to the driver and Netstar’s Global Fleet Bureau in Midrand, which is active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The LCD display fitted next to the camera flashes red or amber, depending on the urgency of the alert. An alarm is triggered, advising the driver to stop as soon as is safely possible. The Netstar controller will be able to view what the camera sees and contact the driver with a message to pull over and rest. If the driver continues to ignore the alarm, the messages will be escalated until the driver complies with the instruction.
Drivers work long hours in challenging conditions and are under constant time pressure, so, understandably, there can be pushback when an alarm is triggered. “Drivers sometimes have some choice words for our fleet bureau staff,” says Forbes. He tells the story of a driver who ignored repeated fatigue warnings and ended up colliding with three other vehicles within thirty minutes of the first alarm. It is a cautionary tale that has convinced clients to take up the service. “More and more fleet controllers are asking Netstar to monitor those alarms for them and take action on their behalf,” Forbes adds.
The use of AI cameras has revealed a shift in driving patterns, with more night-time driving. Netstar monitoring indicates that more vehicles are driving through the night. Trucks are loaded at 5 in the afternoon, and the driver aims to arrive by 8 the following morning.
“Interestingly, fatigue peaks at 10 am due to the long night and now the glaring sun contributing to weariness,” Forbes notes.
Other trends detected by Netstar include daydreaming, where drivers spend so long on the road that they go into a trance and fail to notice road hazards in front of them; lack of discipline around seatbelts towards the end of the day; and a significant increase in insurance companies requesting tracking data and camera footage to validate claims. Netstar also offers an increasingly popular service where drivers travelling through high-risk areas can press an assist button to request eyes-on-screen monitoring until they give the thumbs up – a kind of digital buddy who will look for danger and activate response teams should it be needed.
These tools show how AI and human monitoring can work together to make roads safer for everyone.
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